Welcome to the Good Life!tag:typepad.com,2003:weblog-812460167924016752012-05-23T05:30:54-07:00TypePadWhat I'm loving wednesdaytag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a0120a4d25a87970b016305c2127f970d2012-05-23T05:30:54-07:002012-05-23T05:30:54-07:00I am so excited it is finally Wednesday! This week Wednesday is my Friday and that is first and foremost what I am loving the most! :) I am really loving that tomorrow Rob and I are headed to Asheville for the long weekend. I can't wait to relax and be on vacation! :) I am also loving how well running has been going. I took a week off last week because I was really struggling with dental visits and some other things, but I am back in full force this week! I've run 3 miles twice this week and...Becky

I am so excited it is finally Wednesday! This week Wednesday is my Friday and that is first and foremost what I am loving the most! :)

I am really loving that tomorrow Rob and I are headed to Asheville for the long weekend. I can't wait to relax and be on vacation! :)

I am also loving how well running has been going. I took a week off last week because I was really struggling with dental visits and some other things, but I am back in full force this week! I've run 3 miles twice this week and am looking forward to getting in at least two more workouts. I love the running endorphins!

And, last but not least I am loving my handsome husband! He has been working so hard lately--and then coming home and putting time into some home improvement projects. I am so happy we will get to spend a few days together before the busy travel season starts for me!

What are you loving this week?

I am loving our sweet Rex! He got a little too close to something we had just painted and we have been joking with him about being a zebra. Isnt that the sweetest face you've seen?

I am loving how amazing the weather has been lately! Last night we grilled out steak and veggies and it was such an easy and delicious dinner. Just perfect!

what i'm loving wednesday!tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a0120a4d25a87970b016766866bc7970b2012-05-16T04:55:00-07:002012-05-16T04:55:00-07:00It's Wednesday friends! I am off to the dentist to get a root canal, but honestly I have been in so much pain this week that I am actually looking forward to it. Sad, I know. I do want to share with you what I am loving this week before I head off to my appointment!! I'm loving summer is here. I'm going to be spending quite a bit of time at summer camp and I think this water balloon slide sounds just simply amazing. I'd love to try it out!! :) I'm loving that my sweet Tobbie is back...Becky

It's Wednesday friends! I am off to the dentist to get a root canal, but honestly I have been in so much pain this week that I am actually looking forward to it. Sad, I know. I do want to share with you what I am loving this week before I head off to my appointment!!

I'm loving summer is here. I'm going to be spending quite a bit of time at summer camp and I think this water balloon slide sounds just simply amazing. I'd love to try it out!! :)

I'm loving that my sweet Tobbie is back home with me! He has been in Kentucky with my mom for a few months and I am happy to have his sweet baby self home where he belongs. He has been such a rockstar to snuggle with the past few days when I haven't been feeling well. Tobbie was completely snoring on our way home Sunday--isn't he so cute in this picture? :)I'm loving that Rob and I have booked a trip to Asheville for Memorial Day weekend! I am so looking forward to the vacation. I am counting down the days! I know we are going to tour the Biltmore, but what else should we do? I have heard so many great things about the city--I can't wait!

I'm loving this reminder to keep praying and stay faithful. I need to remember this when times seem to be really tough!

I am loving my family so so much! I had the best time in Kentucky celebrating both my sister and my mom this weekend. Rob and I are also working on some home improvement projects and I love his contagious excitement about fixing up a few things around our house. :)

christmas 2011tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a0120a4d25a87970b01675f7e303a970b2011-12-27T11:35:58-08:002011-12-27T11:35:58-08:00Rob and I had a wonderful time celebrating our first married Christmas together! I know that little kids make Christmas so much fun, but honestly being married and having someone to share all of the love and joy of Christmastime with makes it so incredibly special. I have had many single Christmases, and I am so thankful to have someone special to spend the holidays with! Rob and I started celebrating Christmas the Sunday before the actual holiday with his mom's family. We went to his grandpa's house after church. Everyone on his mom's side was there--and everyone gets a...Becky

Rob and I had a wonderful time celebrating our first married Christmas together! I know that little kids make Christmas so much fun, but honestly being married and having someone to share all of the love and joy of Christmastime with makes it so incredibly special. I have had many single Christmases, and I am so thankful to have someone special to spend the holidays with!

Rob and I started celebrating Christmas the Sunday before the actual holiday with his mom's family. We went to his grandpa's house after church. Everyone on his mom's side was there--and everyone gets a present! His grandparents are so generous and thoughtful. They ask for Christmas lists from all of us! Honestly though, I would be just as happy there if we didn't get anything. Spending time with family is what is most important!

We continued the celebrations by celebrating with our friends on Thursday night. Two of our friends bought a new home and so warmly invited us all over to their house to have a Yankee Gift Exchange and yummy food!

Friday, Rob and I headed down to Kentucky to spend quality time with my family. Three days is just not enough--I wish we had so much more time! My mom had so much delicious food for us--including potato soup because we were both sick! Rob and I both had the nasty head cold that's been going around. My sister makes a delicious homemade ranch dressing and the combination of soup and salad was exactly what we needed to feel better for the holidays!

Saturday morning we woke up bright and early to do some cooking and cleaning for my mom's Christmas Eve Party! Rob was such a champ and put together a new dresser for two of my cousins. He seriously worked all day long on it!

In the evening, a bunch of my moms family came over to celebrate with us! I love my mom's Christmas Eve parties. It's a time of fun, laughter, and family. We also had some very good food! My mom sure knows how to entertain! I should definitely have gotten some pictures of the spread, but I was just enjoying myself so much! I did capture this sweet picture of Tobbie. He was a little wore out from the festivities...

On Christmas morning after we had opened all of our goodies, Rob and I packed up the car and headed back home. I was very surprised that I wasn't more emotional about leaving. The only bad part about being married on holidays is not getting to spend the entire time with your own family. I love Rob's family dearly so I think that helps a lot!

We went straight to Rob's parents' home to stuff ourselves with roast beef, turkey, mashed potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes, broccoli and cheese, and just about every single dessert you can think of! I tried really hard to limit myself--but seriously everything was so so good!

After lunch, we opened up all of our wonderful gifts from Rob's family. They go ALL OUT for Christmas and it is so fun to see what everyone gets! Rob and his BIL always exchange gun/wine/beer gifts and this year was no exception. They are so excited about these gifts that they are almost more entertaining than my niece and nephew! So funny!!

And of course I'm sure you are all interested in my goodies I received for Christmas, right? My mom and sister bought Rob and I a bread maker and an ice cream maker. I can't wait to get started using these! So fun!

Rob was incredibly generous, as always. He is such a thoughtful gift giver and I love that about him. This year he surprised me with a pretty La Mer watch that I had been eyeing for some time. I received this pretty purple one with a travel charm on it! So gorgeous!

Rob also gave me a purple North Face. Are you starting to notice a trend? This isn't the exact one, but it's close. I wore it while running errands on Monday and it was the perfect lightweight coat! The color is also pretty cheerful which makes running errands more fun!

My SIL and her family completely surprised me with this necklace--but with my own initials, of course. This is one of my favorite gifts! I love my new monogram and am so excited to show it off!

This Christmas was absolutely one for the books. I am so incredibly blessed to be surrounded with such a wonderful family and to have married into a wonderful family, as well. I am forever grateful for the times we get to spend together! :)

Our Weddingtag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a0120a4d25a87970b015431df1a80970c2011-10-29T03:34:00-07:002011-10-22T21:47:49-07:00These posts contain all of the pictures and descriptions of the happiest day of our lives. I hope you enjoy looking through them and hope they may inspire you for your own wedding! Bridal Brunch Wedding Preview! Getting Ready for the Wedding Cute Wedding Candids Time for the First Look Before the Ceremony Onto the Ceremony Formal Pictures Reception Part 1 Reception Part 2 Honeymoon Part 1Becky

These posts contain all of the pictures and descriptions of the happiest day of our lives. I hope you enjoy looking through them and hope they may inspire you for your own wedding!

reception...part 2! tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a0120a4d25a87970b01539283de3f970b2011-10-28T04:07:00-07:002011-10-22T21:39:18-07:00Thanks for sticking around friends while I finish up these last wedding posts! My goal is to finish up our honeymoon pictures in the next few weeks, as well. We have been married for almost 7 months afterall! :) I love this picture our photographer snagged of me getting our of my car! It gives you a little bit of an idea of just how enormous my dress was. I LOVED all of the layers, but it looked pretty hilarious in the car--especially with my veil added to it!! :) Here are a few pictures of us signing our marriage...Becky

Thanks for sticking around friends while I finish up these last wedding posts! My goal is to finish up our honeymoon pictures in the next few weeks, as well. We have been married for almost 7 months afterall! :)

I love this picture our photographer snagged of me getting our of my car! It gives you a little bit of an idea of just how enormous my dress was. I LOVED all of the layers, but it looked pretty hilarious in the car--especially with my veil added to it!! :)

Here are a few pictures of us signing our marriage license. Hurray! :)

This is the outside of our pretty programs, along with our blinging rings! I love ring shots. :)

This picture is so special to me because it's a candid of my catching up with my two best college girlfriends. Who knows what we are talking about? But, I love the expression and the obvious happiness in all of our faces. :)

This picture was taken just before Rob and I walked into the reception. Love it.

Here is our officiant offering up a prayer before we all ate. I am so thankful for Stephen! His parents are friends with my mom. We are obviously friends and he officiated my wedding! These little details were so important to me on our big day. :)

Aren't my friends beautiful?

I think at some point I've mentioned that I had ten bridesmaids and Rob had nine groomsmen. Right?

Two of my bridesmaids had to go in with one groomsmen--but look how well they all pulled it off!

Here's my pretty sister and MOH giving her toast. She's so pretty too, isn't she?! I am always so thankful for my sister because we are incredibly close, but it meant the world to me that she was there to support me so much through our wedding planning and actual wedding day. She, of course, made me tear up a bunch. She's just the best.

Here is our first dance. I love this shot from our photographer so much--and I'm so thankful I waited to take off my veil! Isn't it beautiful? It was originally attached to my dress as kind of a veil for the dress. (Weird, right?) My awesome seamstress/third cousin-in-law made it into a cathedral veil for me. So, I ended up with a $500 veil for free. Amazing.

Our first dance was to "Blue Sky" by the Allman Brothers. Even though the song was over five minutes long, I wish it was so much longer because the time just flew by!

Rob dancing with his mom. So precious. It makes me tear up a little bit, actually.

Funny story about this picture. Rob picked the song he wanted to dance to with his mother. I objected because I thought there were several other songs that would be more appropriate. However, it was Rob's dance with his mom so I let it slide. Halfway through the song, Rob realized the semi-inappropriate words for dancing with your mom so he grabbed me and Rob's mom grabbed his dad. So hilarious, but it led to this pretty picture of us dancing once again! And, I don't have to tell you who ended up being right, do I? ;)

I was a little bit worried about people dancing at the reception. (Ok, let's be honest. I was major worried about it. I was also major worried about the food, the dresses, the hotel, just about every detail. Aren't all brides?) However, the dancing was in full swing until the very end of the reception! In fact, we extended the reception an extra hour because people were having such a great time. All of those worries were definitely wasted. Look at these pictures--everyone's so happy! :)

Here's my cute nephew and some of Rob's cousins dancing. Aren't they hilarious?

This is one of my very favorite pictures from our reception--my mom rockin' it out on the dance floor. Isn't she darling? She's the cutest. :)

Because we got married in the off-season (March), our DJ threw in a free photobooth. That's right, free! This turned out to be the biggest hit--as you will see in the pictures! We have copies of all of the pictures, as well as a scrapbook where our guests were able to write sweet wishes to us. Such a priceless treasure!

Here are some ladies I go to church with! Aren't they hilarious?!

Here are some of my cousins in the photobooth--I love the sombrero/feather mask combo!

And of course--our sweet ringbearer, Eli. Isn't he the cutest little boy you've ever seen? I think they ended up letting him keep the fireman's hat because he just loved it so much. So so sweet.

Rob and I cutting the cake! We were both sweet to each other when it came to feeding each other pieces. This was one thing I hadn't thought about and I was suddenly filled with so much fear! However, Rob was very sweet and the cake was delicious. We had three kinds--gluten-free carrot cake, chocolate cake with raspberry filling, and red velvet. I heard a positive review about our yummy cakes! :)

Towards the end of the night, our photographer snuck us out of the reception to snap a few quick dramatic photos. I totally stole this idea from our reception site's website. In fact, it was part of the reason I went out to check out the Jessing Center in the first place. No judgement? Didn't the pictures turn out beautiful?

Thanks friends for making it through all of our wedding pictures with me! I'll have all of my wedding posts together at the top of my blog for easy access later. Thanks for indulging me! This truly was the best day of my life. I am so thankful for all of our friends and family who made this day a dream come true. And, of course I am so thankful for my husband Rob who indulged me a thousand times to make sure the day was everything I had dreamt of since I was a child. Looking back through these pictures was such a wonderful way to relive the day I married the love of my life! :)

reception part 1...the details!tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a0120a4d25a87970b0162fbd91f42970d2011-10-27T03:30:00-07:002011-10-27T03:30:00-07:00One of my very favorite things about planning our reception (and our wedding in general) was creating fun details to be included in our big day! Even though we've only been married for seven months, this was pre-pinterest days, so finding wedding details was much tougher! Girls these days have it much easier. ;) First, Rob's groom's cake! Honestly, I maybe loved this cake more than our actual wedding cake. It was of course a complete surprise and Rob (being a Yankee!) had never even seen a groom's cake. This cake is a replica of the Ohio State Stadium, Rob's...Becky

One of my very favorite things about planning our reception (and our wedding in general) was creating fun details to be included in our big day! Even though we've only been married for seven months, this was pre-pinterest days, so finding wedding details was much tougher! Girls these days have it much easier. ;)

First, Rob's groom's cake! Honestly, I maybe loved this cake more than our actual wedding cake. It was of course a complete surprise and Rob (being a Yankee!) had never even seen a groom's cake. This cake is a replica of the Ohio State Stadium, Rob's alma mater.

One of my FAVORITE details of our wedding was all of our pretty paper! One of my friends, Josh, designed it all for us, including our beautiful monogram. This was his wedding gift to us--and I seriously could not be more grateful. He designed our invitations, response cards, reception cards, programs, table settings, menus, thank you cards, and I'm sure there's more I just can't think of right now. He was such a champ when I would give him feedback like--make it more curly-q. Ha! I LOVED the end result and I kept so many as mementos. :)

Anyways, here is a gathering of our table cards. Instead of doing a traditional numbering setup, we went with things that are special to us as a couple--places we've traveled, our pets, college, etc. Josh did a little doodle of each of the items and I just fell in love with them. Aren't they darling?!

Here is our beautiful menu! I LOVED it, as well. I just have to brag one more time! When I picked everything up from the printer, they asked me who had designed them. The owner got his contact information in case anyone wants some personalized work! I was so flattered that she liked the paper products for our wedding so much--and I was excited to get to brag on my good friend (and groomsman!)

Here is another fun (and beautiful!) detail our florist extraordinaire came up with for me! Julie, a good friend of my family's from our church, had an art class at her local high school help out with designing the giant D's for the doors at the church and the reception site. They were then covered in white carnations. Gorgeous! :)

Here is our wedding cake topper! I had SUCH a hard time deciding on using a custom cake topper or buying something. I pretty much obsessed to no end, but in the end I am really happy with our choice. I wanted something beautiful and classic. And, hopefully our kids will be able to use this someday. :)

One more picture, friends! The week before our wedding, I decided we were missing something...but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. After much needless stress, I decided to add a candy bar. This was a huge hit and I am so thankful for my friends and family who made this happen. This gave the kids (and adults!) an alternative to cake. We still had quite a bit of candy leftover, but I was amazed at the amount of candy people actually ate! :)

Alright friends, I'll be back soon with one last set of reception photos! :) Hope you enjoy! :)

miscellany monday!tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a0120a4d25a87970b01539206cac8970b2011-10-03T05:26:00-07:002011-10-02T19:33:50-07:00Hi friends! I hope you have all had great weekends! I am looking forward to reading your recaps of the weekend! :) Mine was exception, as I got to spend some much-needed quality time with my husband and good friends! :) Today I'm linking up with lowercase letters to share all things miscellaneous! -I'm excited it's Monday. AH! Yes, I did say that! My family is coming up to visit this weekend and I can't wait to see them. Each day we are one day closer to our weekend of fun! My mom has meetings on Saturday and Sunday, but...Becky

Hi friends! I hope you have all had great weekends! I am looking forward to reading your recaps of the weekend! :) Mine was exception, as I got to spend some much-needed quality time with my husband and good friends! :)

-I'm excited it's Monday. AH! Yes, I did say that! My family is coming up to visit this weekend and I can't wait to see them. Each day we are one day closer to our weekend of fun! My mom has meetings on Saturday and Sunday, but my sister and cousins will be here for us to have fun all day! I have some fun baking and crafting ideas planned. My cousins have already ordered up a scary haunted house, which freaks me out a little, but I'm game! :)

-I made an apple pie for Rob's birthday last week! I used a gf crust from Whole Foods, which was pretty good! In fact, you couldn't really tell it was gluten free--which is always a sign of success! The crust broke a little when i was putting it up on the top, but it was still delicious! :)

-This weekend I was in a pretty intense euchre game. My friend Alicia and I were on a team against our boyfriends/husbands. The game got pretty heated--and Rob had to dress accordingly. I got a huge kick out of his backwards hat. :)

This weekend I got a total of 12 hours of sleep, so I am really running ragged today. I have lots of work to keep me busy for the next few days, but I am going to try my best to get back into wedding recaps. I haven't done any updates in awhile, but be on the lookout for those this week!

Tell me, how was your weekend?

miscellany monday!tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a0120a4d25a87970b014e8bad911a970d2011-09-19T10:24:23-07:002011-09-19T10:24:23-07:00It's been ages since I've linked up with Miscellany Monday, so it's time to do it again! Head over to Carissa's blog to join in on the fun! -I was almost completely unplugged from my phone, the internet, and television this weekend. It was so nice! And honestly, I didn't feel like I missed that much! Bethenny has a rule about no blackberry after 6 PM. Not a bad idea! -I spent Friday and Saturday with my momma and sister. I love getting to spend time with them and it just doesn't happen nearly enough. My mom and cousins are...Becky

It's been ages since I've linked up with Miscellany Monday, so it's time to do it again! Head over to Carissa's blog to join in on the fun!

-I was almost completely unplugged from my phone, the internet, and television this weekend. It was so nice! And honestly, I didn't feel like I missed that much! Bethenny has a rule about no blackberry after 6 PM. Not a bad idea!

-I spent Friday and Saturday with my momma and sister. I love getting to spend time with them and it just doesn't happen nearly enough. My mom and cousins are coming up to visit in October and I'm trying to convince my sister to tag along for the weekend!! :)

-Sunday was spent running errands and working on our deck. Rob worked on the deck until he ran out of paint. We bought more stain and worked on that for the rest of the day. Pretty much until the sun went down. I had plans to run today, but my legs are so tired from squatting, bending, and everything else that I did in the five or so hours we spent painting. I think today is a day of rest!

-Late Saturday night I made a meal plan and clipped coupons. We saved 20% off of our grocery bill-which is amazing for us because we normally just shop the perimeter of the grocery store. There's never coupons for fresh produce! Anyways, I was super proud of myself!

-Tonight's menu calls for Rob's chili and grilled cheese. We just finished putting everything in the crock pot to cook until dinner time. I am ecstatic dinner is already planned and ready to eat. Those are the best days!

Ok this is enough miscellany for now! I promise to be back tomorrow--with pictures! :) Tell me, how was your weekend?! What are you planning to eat this week?

thursday randoms...tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a0120a4d25a87970b015435741075970c2011-09-15T10:20:07-07:002011-09-15T10:20:07-07:00I'm sorry I don't have a more coherent post for you over here, but this is about the limit of my brain function today so please bear with me!! -My printer went out awhile ago. Like months ago. So I attempted to use my husbands. Totally didn't work either. So I've been relying on him to print things at work for me that I need for my work. No bueno. However, the solution to this was me driving 25 minutes each way to buy a new printer. Now that it's done, I'm glad I made the effort. However, at the...Becky

I'm sorry I don't have a more coherent post for you over here, but this is about the limit of my brain function today so please bear with me!!

-My printer went out awhile ago. Like months ago. So I attempted to use my husbands. Totally didn't work either. So I've been relying on him to print things at work for me that I need for my work. No bueno. However, the solution to this was me driving 25 minutes each way to buy a new printer. Now that it's done, I'm glad I made the effort. However, at the time I was SO annoyed!

-I'm also attempting to give up caffeine. (Could that be why I'm so annoyed? :) ) Specifically my beloved Diet Coke. I would have usually between 2-3 a day and that was the main source of my caffeine. I might have an occasional cup of coffee or latte, but the vast majority is coming from my love of DC. This week I've been limiting myself to only one. It's pretty tough! I spend my days thinking do I need the DC now or should I save it for later? I think next week will be better--and I'm going to attempt to only buy DC occasionally for our house. Maybe my next switch will only to be ordering DC at a restaurant?

-Sometime in the future (at least a year!) Rob and I could be talking about building our own house. Our home right now is a one bedroom, so there's no room for future babies to run around. Even though it's not something that's going to happen anytime soon, I can't help but look at Pinterest alllll day long and plan my future Master Bedroom or my kids' bathrooms. And imagining my dream kitchen? I could spend all day on that one! I was thinking about doing a series of posts on my ideas for each room. What do you think?

-Traveling for work is picking up again. This month I'm going to log over 1600 miles for my job--mainly on the weekends and in the evenings. However, I'm pretty excited about it. I think this time around things are pretty spaced out and I will get to have some quality time with my friends and family along the way. This weekend I'll get to be with my mom and sister! In a couple of weeks, I'll be working but Rob will be coming along with me. I can't complain about that at all!

-I'm really need to step up to the plate to meet my monthly goals! I've only run twice this week--and it's Thursday! I'm going to head out right after this for a run--reminding myself of my goals was a huge motivation!

-Rob's birthday is coming up at the end of the month! He really wanted some new things for his car, which were his birthday gift from me. However, I have been searching for a small birthday gift to go along with it. And, I think I found it! I'm so excited, but no more details since he reads the blog. I'll be sure to share after his birthday celebrations!

Ok that is enough random for now! I hope you're having a good Thursday! :)

it's september!tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a0120a4d25a87970b01543508ccd0970c2011-09-01T08:02:53-07:002011-09-01T08:02:53-07:00I honestly cannot believe it is September! I feel like it was just yesterday when I was getting ready to be gone for so much of the summer! I have seen so many bloggers set goals for themselves for each month and I'd like to join in on the fun. I think each month gives us each a great start to really make a fresh start for us to try our very best. Here are my September goals: Run at least 5 days a week. I had to take a break from this during August since I sprained my ankle,...Becky

I honestly cannot believe it is September! I feel like it was just yesterday when I was getting ready to be gone for so much of the summer! I have seen so many bloggers set goals for themselves for each month and I'd like to join in on the fun. I think each month gives us each a great start to really make a fresh start for us to try our very best.

Here are my September goals:

Run at least 5 days a week. I had to take a break from this during August since I sprained my ankle, but I started the month off right with a great run this morning! I want to continue this throughout the rest of September.

Clean my house on Thursdays. I'm going to be gone for at least part of every weekend during the month of September. I hate coming home to a dirty house, with suitcases of laundry to do. So, this month, I am making it a goal to have a clean house on Thursday so it will (hopefully) be clean when I come home on Sunday.

Spend time first thing in the morning with God. I am starting a new Bible Study next week and I would like to have this be the first thing I cross off my list every day!

See my friends at least once a week. This is not always easy when our schedules get very busy. However, some of my in-town friends and I have decided to try to have a Sunday night dinner together. I really want to get this idea moving and spend some quality time with my sweet friends.

Start substitute teaching! I am home most days, while working nights and weekends. So, I would like to starting substituting to get out of the house more, meet new people, and bring in a little extra cash! I'd love to start a vacation fund with my subbing money. :)

Take down all of my summer decorations and get ready for fall in our home!

Alright friends, those are my goals for this month. I will check back in on these at the end of the month! And, tell me--are you making any goals for the month of September?